Red, white and blueberry pie

 

I've shared this over on my Kitchen Table blog, but apparently I've never shared it here.  And that's too bad, because it really is a delicious pie, best enjoyed in the summer when the raspberries and blueberries are both fresh.  Here is the recipe:

RED, WHITE, AND BLUE BERRY PIE

9” baked pie crust
BERRY LAYER:
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 1/2 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
4 1/2 Tblsp. dry raspberry jello powder
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 pint fresh or frozen whole unsweetened raspberries
CREAM LAYER:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 c. confectioners sugar
4 oz. cool whip

For berry layers, combine sugar, cornstarch and water in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Cook until thick and clear. Add jello powder; stir until dissolved. Divide mixture in half. Stir blueberries and lemon juice into half of the mixture; spread over bottom of pie shell. Refrigerate. Fold raspberries gently into remaining half of mixture; set aside. For cream layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the cool whip. Spread cream cheese mixture over blueberry layer. Refrigerate until set. Carefully spread raspberry layer over cream layer. Chill at least 4 hours before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

This beautiful pie is very easy to make and is just delicious. It’s perfect for patriotic holidays or any other special summer occasion.

If you should want to make this in the off season, I'll suggest that frozen raspberries will work just fine in the topping.  But frozen blueberries do not work as well for the blueberry layer, so you will want to get the fresh blueberries if you can find them.  

Enjoy this scrumptious patriotic pie!

Cranberry Cream Pie

 

Some time ago I winnowed out the hundreds of scribbled down or clipped out recipes I had stashed here and there in my kitchen and cookbooks.  I found places to file them, sorted some to sell on Etsy, and ended up with a large envelope of them that I didn't quite know what to do with.  I couldn't seem to make up my mind whether to keep them or throw them away.

While planning for Christmas in July, I decided to pull out a recipe from this envelope -- I would pick the first one I came to that sounded the least bit Christmasy!  Living dangerously.  Well, this one actually sounds like a pretty good pick, and somewhat unusual.  I don't think I have seen a recipe for a cranberry cream pie before.  I'll definitely be trying this one.

 

I'll type the recipe out here in case it's not too readable. 

CRANBERRY CREAM PIE

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided use
1 cup water
2 egg yolks, room temperature
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 baked 9-inch pie shell
8 ounces whipped topping like Cool Whip®

In a heavy large saucepan, combine the cranberries, 1 cup sugar, and the water.  Cook over medium high heat until very thick, about 10 minutes.

Mix together the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch.  Add to berries, stir in sour cream, and cook until thick, about 4 minutes.

Pour filling into pie crust.  

Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving.  Just before serving, spread the whipped topping over the pie.

A couple of notes: my mother taught me that when a recipe calls for 2 egg yolks, and there is no use for the whites, to just substitute 1 egg.  That's probably what I'll do.  And also, I think real whipped cream is much tastier and healthier than Cool Whip, so I will likely whip up a pint of heavy cream with a couple tablespoons of confectioners sugar (or maple syrup) and a tablespoon of vanilla.

What do you think?  Would you try this recipe?  I definitely will.